Sunday, October 31, 2010

Kaden was very excited to wear his cow costume again yesterday. After his afternoon nap, we made the rounds and visited Grandma Rysdam, Uncle Steve and Kelly, his buddies Austin and Drew, and we tried to visit his girlfriend Emersyn but she wasn't home. As is customary for Halloween, we picked up a pizza after the rounds and prepared to trick-or-treat. The tricky part of Halloween being on a Sunday is that different towns decided to celebrate it on different days. Wyoming left it up to the individual. Andy did a quick loop around our neighborhood and didn't seen ONE SINGLE CHILD, and only a few homes had their front lights on, which may have been coincidental. So, plan B went into gear and we drove to Grandma's house in Grandville to trick-or-treat in her neighborhood. Kaden did so great. He walked up to each house and said "Trick-or-Treat" and "Thank-You," like a true gentleman. He even thought it was fun to run down the sidewalk, pretending to make a touchdown. True cow style, I'm sure. Oh, and we can't forget about asking Grandma to hold his candy bucket. Every time he got candy, he called for Grandma, and she had to hold his candy bucket until the next house. Crazy kid. Despite the runny nose and cough (of course these don't stop trick-or-treating), we had a great early Halloween. I wonder what he'll be next year?!?

Our cow

Opening his Halloween basket from Grandma

Trying to take his hat off. He kept saying "not cold." I don't think he quite understood the point of the hood.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Kaden loves crafts. I wonder where he gets this from?!? The other day I needed a project to entertain Kaden for awhile. We needed to get outside, get some fresh air, and needed a change in routine. So, I hauled out the paint and brought Kaden outside to paint his pumpkin. He LOVED it. We attempted to make a Michigan "M" on the pumpkin, but as Kaden tried to help me paint it, it slowly disappeared. Kaden loves showing everyone who comes over his painted pumpkin on the porch. I decided we'd just go with the painted pumpkin this year instead of carving it. Call me a bad mom, but I didn't really feel like having a huge mess for him to want to be done after 5 minutes. So, we painted the pumpkin instead, and everyone is happy! :)

So focused on painting

Go Blue!

Making it colorful!

I love how he looks when he concentrates so hard.

A thing of beauty. Look at the gobs of paint on there. Oh, and the stick person- that's his girlfriend Emersyn, drawn by mommy at Kaden's request.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

It seems like whenever Kaden pulls out all of the silliness in him, I never have my camera nearby. So, I quickly capture these moments on my phone. Not the best quality pictures, but they still capture the moments. I've put a few below for your enjoyment.

Kaden wearing my shoes, a hat, and his cool sunglasses. He did that all by himself.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

We went out for dinner with my whole family tonight, which was such a nice, rare treat. My parents are in town for a few days, which means my brothers, their girlfriends, my parents, and the 3 of us spend lots of time together. We decided to go to One Trick Pony for dinner, a favorite downtown place for us. On the walk back to the car after dinner, Kaden noticed that one of the doors was open at the firehouse. Andy walked across the street intending to show Kaden the firetruck as he stood on the sidewalk. However, there just so happened to be a fireman standing there, who let Kaden climb into a firetruck and sit on the driver's seat. He was in HEAVEN! Of course, I didn't have a camera with me, so I had to snap a picture on my Blackberry... not very ideal. Kaden was making siren noises, and saying "smoke, water." Hmm...maybe we have a fireman in training? He even got an official fireman sticker. What a lucky boy.

Monday, October 18, 2010

We celebrated an early Halloween with our friends from church on Saturday night. Our Fall Family Festival was spent playing games with the kids, trick-or-treating in the West Wing, doing crafts, and lots of chaotic running around from 23 kids ranging in ages from 3 months through 2nd grade. Phew! :) Kaden enjoyed showing off his costume, and thought it was pretty cool that Mommy and Daddy dressed up like him, too! Enjoy the preview of our costumes and the fun!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Last week Friday I had an applesauce-making fest with my friend Melanie. She brought her son Jack over to entertain Kaden, and we went to town ALL DAY LONG. One may question if the craziness is worth it. Undoubtedly, yes. Yes, it took some time to prepare all of the materials, pick up the apples from the orchard, wash all of the jars for canning, etc. Yes, it was a jam-packed day of cutting, boiling, and processing 4 bushels of apples. Yes, I finally figured out my canner so the process went much faster. Yes, it took me another day to fully clean my kitchen, toys, and supplies after the applesauce was made. Yes, I was beyond exhausted for our much-needed date night that night. Yes, staring at almost 90 containers of applesauce between the two of us, ah, priceless. One day (give or take) of craziness, and a year's worth of enjoyment. I love the satisfaction of making something and savoring it all year long. Each time I open up my pantry and grab a jar of applesauce, I can enjoy the delicious flavor. Plus, it's even cheaper to make it myself. And, really... what else would I have done all day long? Nothing that would top a year's worth of delicious enjoyment.

Oh, a delightful sight.

Yum!

Check out my applesauce helper. Such a boy! :) (Sorry for the poor quality, I took it on my phone so I could capture the moment.)

I love fall. The colors, the brisk temperatures, being outdoors, and celebrating the little things in life that give a 2 yr. old joy. Not to mention the fabulous photo ops that happen when you're outdoors on a sunny, colorful day. Last week Saturday it was about 70 degrees. Much warmer than our other trips to Klackle (I did enjoy not having to be all bundled up!!). We met Kristen and Will (his poor daddy had to study for the CPA exam... yuck!) at Klackle Orchard. The boys had SO much fun together. Kaden loved seeing the animals, riding the barrel train ride, the hayride out to pick apples, and the pumpkin carriage out to the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin. Of course he loved the donut afterwards, too! :) I love how the pictures capture him at this stage. So curious, silly, serious, playful, and loving. Sorry there are so many pics- I just couldn't decide which ones to highlight. Check out my FB photo album for all of the pictures if you'd like! :)

Kaden participating in a staring contest with the calf.

Driving on the barrel train

He LOVES this ride!

Daddy and Kaden on the wagon ride out to pick apples

Kristen and Will

Mmm... a juicy apple

Another juicy bite

Trying to reach the apples on Daddy's shoulders- the crop was pretty slim this year, so all of the apples were up high. Good thing Daddy is so tall!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

We took Kaden to the GR Children's Museum on Thursday night for family night. I consider this place to be a mini-Disney for 2 yr. old's. Kaden absolutely LOVED his first visit there. We loved it so much we decided to ask for a year membership for our family for Christmas. It was pretty busy downtown due to ArtPrize, which allowed us to also see the amazing Elephant Walk exhibit right outside the museum. Kaden was curious about everything there- blowing bubbles, playing fireman, making dinner, playing golf, shopping for food, mailing packages, going through the bank drive-thru, stacking balls, playing drums, seeing the Curious George displays- you name it, he loved it. Another fun time together as a family! Oh, and for all of those people who know me well and realize my fear of germ-infested places such as this one, Kaden got a nice, warm bath to clean himself off as soon as we got home and we used lots of hand sanitizer there! :)

If only we looked this skinny in real life...

Kaden and his friend, George. He's recently been into reading the Curious George books, so he loved seeing Curious George stuff everywhere!

Making bubbles with Daddy

Making dinner for Daddy

Kaden driving the firetruck with Daddy as a passenger

Cute fireman

Climbing through the 3-D mirror

A circle of Kaden and Daddy

He was a bit confused as to why this horse didn't move like the one at Meijer. Hmm... if only it took pennies! :)

Driving the car to "the store"

Learning how to use the drive-up at the bank (which isn't necessary since Daddy is our personal banker)

Daddy teaches Kaden everything there is to know about banking

Mailing packages with Mommy (evidence that I was actually there. Usually I'm the photographer and don't make the pics)

About Me

Welcome to our family blog! Andy & I met in college, and we've been married for 10 years now. God blessed us with Kaden Benjamin on July 11, 2008. Our twin girls, Maya Grace and Makenna Anne, were born on September 29, 2011, and we are enjoying every moment with them as a family of 5! Andy works in finance, and Jen is working as a literacy consultant.